Hayden, ID: On August 14, 2020, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office arrested James D. Estes, a 43 year old male from Hayden, Idaho in reference to a hit and run accident that occurred on the 9th of December 2019. Estes has been an investigative lead throughout the investigation and just recently the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office was able to get an arrest warrant for Estes. He was arrested without incident.
The original incident occurred on the 9th of December at around 4:50 pm in the parking lot of the Hico at the intersection of Hayden Ave. and Ramsey Road. Estes struck a pedestrian in the parking lot, running them over and left the scene. The victim of the hit and run, Stephen C. Walson, a 61 year old male from Hayden sustained significant injuries but survived and is recovering from his injuries.
At the time of the accident, Deputies were unable to locate any witnesses on scene who observed the actual collision, however, the gas station was able to provide video surveillance of the incident. A dark colored over light colored small SUV was observed running over Walson. After the collision the SUV stopped and fled the scene. Based on information from the public, Deputies were able to identify a possible suspect vehicle. A search warrant was served on the vehicle and evidence was collect. That evidence was sent to labs for testing. During this time the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Team worked with the Prosecutor’s Office and once the lab results were returned they were able to obtain an arrest warrant for Estes.
Estes was arrested on that warrant with the help of members from the North Idaho Violent Crimes Task Force. The warrant had a bond set at $10,000.
Sheriff Ben Wolfinger
By: Lt. Ryan Higgins
19-48006
